Are you selling the sizzle or the saussage?
If you have written a book, I guarantee that you put your heart and soul into making it the best it could possibly be. You spent long hours writing, researching, checking and proofing so that your readers will get the most out of reading it.
But there is one aspect of the process that few authors fully understand, and that is, what makes a potential reader pick it up in the first place. It may be proudly sitting on the shelf in a bookshop, but it is surrounded by literally thousands of other titles. Why should they pick your up when there are so many others to choose from? Unless you understand this, then your book will not achieve its full potential. Put another way, it won’t sell!
Do you remember the last time you give yourself the luxury of spending time browsing in a book shop? It is a beautiful experience! Did you go there with a completely open mind, or was there something specific that you were looking for? You may not have known the book title, but you probably knew the ‘reading experience’ you were seeking. You knew what you wanted a book to provide something for you or to make you feel a certain way.
Were you looking for a relaxing novel to sit and enjoy with a glass of wine? Were you looking for a gripping thriller or a detective novel? Did you want to read more about a subject that interested you? Whatever it was, the chances are that it was your subconscious mind that was looking out for it on your behalf. It is very good at that!
So, from the many thousands of books on the shelves, how do you know which is “the One!” The only clue you initially have to work with is the cover. Despite perceived wisdom, you can only judge a book by its cover. It was what made you reach out for it and pick it up. At this point you may not take the decision to buy it, but you are giving it a chance to sell itself to you. You book only has seconds to do this.
So many authors believe that it is the plot of the book that is going to sell it. But they are wrong. Pick up almost any book and turn to the back cover. It will tell you about the characters, the plot and the ending. But that is not what is going to turn the reader into a purchaser. If they want that information, they need to buy the book and read it. But first they need to decide to buy it. So how does the book cover do this?
It is not about having a clever photo library image to catch people’s attention, or though this can help. It is not about having a highly intelligent book title, that makes people say “that’s clever!” even though they have no actual idea what it means. If you have to read chapter seventy-six before you understand the book title, it is the wrong book title!
A successful book cover is not about what is inside the book, it is about what your perfect reader is looking for. That is what needs to resonate with them. If you can get this right, your cover will work for you.
In marketing, there is a famous saying, “Don’t sell the sausage, instead sell the sizzle!”
If you were to look at the actual ingredients of a sausage, you would probably never eat another one in your life! Of course they contain meant, but not as much as you might think! There can be grains, breadcrumbs, rusk, fat, salt, soya protein and seaweed. All of this is minced together and stuffed into a casing like pork intestines. A great favourite in early Rome! So how does that sound to you? Appetising or what?
Instead, if somebody said to you “I would love to invite you to my barbeque. We have a great feast prepared with plenty of cold beer and wine. There is music and we will be burning kiln dried oak logs on the barbecue which creates an inviting aroma. We have handmade sausages created by a country butcher which smell amazing and sizzle in the heat. You’ll have a great day!
Now, instead of selling sausages, you are now selling an experience. You can picture it. You can smell it. You can almost taste it. Your book cover blurb needs to do the same thing. The reader needs to be enticed to want to experience the story. Raise their desire!
One huge thing that authors fail to include on the cover is “What sort of book is it?” An obvious question that doesn’t always get answered!
I recently saw a great book title sitting alone on an interestingly designed page. I had no idea whether it was a novel? A biography? A thriller? Or a textbook? I was given no clue.
If I do not know in a couple of seconds what type of book it is, I am not going to pick it up. Especially if there are other books beside it that will give me that information.
There are five elements to a successful cover
- An relevant, eye-catching and thought-provoking design
- The authors name – maybe beside it, a small note about his other titles
- A one line heading at the top of the cover which makes it obvious the sort of book at it is
- The main title
- A sub heading that creates context or supports the title
All of this, combined, should tell the potential reader what they can expect from the book and make them want to read it.
Then turn the book over to read the back cover. This should be about the reasons that they should buy it. It is not about the plot.
Many authors will show a short review on the top of the back cover. This should be a bit like the short reviews you see on the posters outside a theatre. A short extract. A one-liner.
Next should be reasons to buy the book “If you love a good thriller, they you’ll love this book!”
You could have another review or testimonial, followed by an author thumbnail photo and a short and relevant biography.
The final couple of inches of the back cover are for the publisher imprint; the barcode; the book title and author; the price of the book on Pound Sterling; Euros and US Dollars.
Finally, the full ISBN with dashes. The format should be 978-1-123456-22-7
Built into this number is the supply chain that enables your book to be ordered and dispatched from all over the world. Without this information, an ISBN is useless.
Do bear in mind that ISBNs issued by printers or distributors are their ISBNs not yours. ISBN issued by Amazon are only valid on Amazon’s website, not in the book trade.
When you purchase an ISBN, you need to apply to it all of the metadata about your book. Without metadata the ISBN is just a number. It is the metadata that is used to search for the book, by book sellers, websites and the general public.
There are a lot of details to be aware of, and a lot more besides. Few authors are aware of all of these finer points and get caught out when they try and do it all themselves. The rewards for getting it right are well worth it. Do make sure you get impartial advice!
Chris Day – founder of Filament Publishing Ltd. Author Commercial Coach